February 14th
by bk00
Summary: AU Valentine's Day Shots. Enjoy!
1. Proposal

**I know this late but Happy Valentine's Day:**

**The Orange Fox And The Lioness****: Proposal**

It was a snowy February morning, as the white light from the sun attempted to break the clouds. Ignoring the signal of awaking from the world, a raven-haired girl shifted her body in queen-sized bed in order to snuggle against her partner. When she felt nothing, the girl's eyes opened as her mind instantly woke up. "Naruto?" She called out, sleepily. Her boyfriend was not beside her—which should have been obvious the second she didn't hear his snoring—nor in the bathroom. She sat up, when she suddenly heard a clanking coming from the direction of the kitchen.

Hinata got out of bed, being sure to make it as she exited (as much as she loved that boy he wasn't the cleanest person when it comes to housing). Not bothering to check her hair in the mirror she left their bedroom and headed down the hall of their apartment. She found her blond haired companion cooking, the counters covering in supplies as he sporadically made breakfast.

Resting a hand on her cheek, elbow in her opposite hand, she gave a small smile and a shake of her head. It would be so much easier to watch the carnage if he had copies of himself to help clean up behind him. She entered the room and came up behind him, giving a quick hug around the waist. "Naruto, what are you doing exactly?" He was completely focused on stir his batter, blinking when her voice had finally reached his ears.

The blond gave a wide grin that she couldn't see as she rested her head on his back. "Making breakfast! You do it all the time, so I thought it would be nice if I gave it a try. Nobody ever told me cooking was so hard!" Despite how happy and proud of himself he sounded, Hinata's heart still pinged with pain. The love of her life had grown up alone really, going from one foster family to another. Lucky enough all the families he had stayed with all lived within the Academy that they had both attended when they had been younger.

It wasn't until he had been adopted by his childhood friend family, Sasuke Uchiha, that he really had anyone truly special in his life….well except for her. She had always had feelings for him and now they had been together for several years. In the years that he had been with those families, he had to steal food from shops in order to survive, living off the streets as a thief. So it was rare that Naruto cooked (except for ramen. Man, could he make him some ramen!).

That and the kitchen would be in the condition it was now: a complete and utter mess. Though Hinata wasn't worried about that, as she let went to the table and let him finish his cooking. She was too curious as to why exactly he was cooking for her. _"What could he possibly be up to?"_ The purpled haired woman could only watch her boyfriend as he rampage around the kitchen, stirring one thing, flipping another, and have to pull out the fire extinguisher once or twice. Anything he did was always considered a fiasco, but he apparently had the devil's luck, since always ended out extremely well.

She held a smile on her face, sitting herself up when he saw him turn. He carefully cared a tray of food over to the table. He had truly gone all out with the meal: bacon, toast, sunny side eggs, and his famous chocolate pancakes. Naruto went to go get her some orange juice, as Hinata eyes surveyed the meal before. "Naruto, why are the pancakes shaped like hearts?" It clicked as she suddenly looked at the closest digital clocks and saw the date on display. February 14th. _**Valentine's Day**_!

She didn't say anything, but gave a little gasp at the realization. Hinata couldn't believe she could forget! She was talking to Sakura and Ino about it just yesterday! Taking a deep breath in order to recompose herself, she picked up her fork to begin eating—only to instantly drop it after reading the message spelled out in whip cream on top of the pancakes.

She couldn't bring herself to say something as the words _"Will you marry me?" _looped in her mind. "So, I hope you say yes, because honestly, I never want to work as Sasuke's assistant ever again." A voice from behind her said, the clinking of a glass hitting the table. Naruto had come from behind her, smiling as he rested his head on her right shoulder. She was shocked for sure, the tiny tears of joy lingering on the edges of her eyes telling him all he needed to know.

**Favorite moment, line, and quote?**


	2. Stay

**The Hawk And The Rabbit****: Stay**

Okay, he'd admit that he couldn't help himself. How many women was he going to find with naturally pink hair? So, since they were in a relationship it was his. He had been playing with the short pink locks for a little over an hour now (his clock said 7:30), having woken up two hours earlier. He couldn't control when he woke up anymore, not it was his internal alarm forcing him to get up. Of course normally he would have been out the door by now, down at the station, but something had told him to sleep in that day and spend the day with her.

Sasuke knew that Sakura would appreciate him staying home, as he never really got a day off what with being the New York City's police commander. "Sasuke," She then mumbled not bother to move and enjoy his touch. He gave the tiniest of smiles as he stopped only to have herself push against him.

"Why'd you stop?" She whined softly. His eyes sparking with mirth at teasing her a little, the dark-haired man continued to run his fingers through her hair. "Can I ask why you love to play with my hair so much, Sasuke?" She asked, her eyes focusing on the wall across from the bed, her knees curly backwards in the bed.

"I never got to play with it when it was long, so I'm making up for long time…" He felt her cringe against him at the memory. Being the head of the police the department, he made a lot of enemies. And, of course, those people who have a grudge against them always go for the ones closer to them. One of the most deadly convicts he and Naruto had put away had somehow escaped. And this bastard had the nerve to go after Sakura—though had he gone after Hinata, the guy would be dead right now and not rotting in a cell, so the crook had actually made a smart choice.

He had Sakura by her hair, which had been elbow length at the time, a gun at the woman's head. Thank god she was a trained nurse. Using the scalpel she always carried, she somehow cut hard enough through her hair. Falling forward on the ground, Sakura rolled out of the way so that way Sasuke could get in a clean shot and disarm her kidnapper.

The two laid in a serene silence for a couple minutes… until the ring of a cell phone broke the spell. Sasuke reached over to his night stand out of reflex, but stopped when he felt something tug on his opposite hand. He looked over to Sakura, her jade eyes pleading him not to pick it up. "Please," She started, "Let Naruto handle it."

Sasuke hesitated in that moment, something the Uchiha had never done once (then again repression was a funny thing….). He sighed, knowing the choice was a hard one. He had promised himself not to preoccupy himself with work, and he knew that on any other day Naruto would have been more than happy to be chief for a day. And yet there was that little thing that his blond brother had told him the other day. "Sakura, Naruto can't take my place, at least not for today." Their fingers intertwined for no real apparent reason, as Sakura sat herself up.

She kept looking at him, but he refused to meet her eyes. He _never_ refused to look her in the eye. If it was one thing she knew about the boy, he never backed down from a challenge. Sasuke would always look into her eyes till she eventually dropped whatever they were arguing about. But now she was curious and once she was, there was nothing stopping her. "Why not?"

"I can't exactly tell you." He finally gazed at her, lifting her right hand that was locked with his right. Sakura's brow rose, her eyes moving along her hand until she found the silver band on her finger. Oh? Oh. Oh! Sasuke had to let go of her hand to cover his ears as she suddenly squealed, jumping on the bed like a ten year-old she was just told she was going to Disney World.

"Sakura," He said calmly, as she rapidly started talking too fast his eyes to attempt to read. _'Why do all women do this?'_ "SAKURA!" At the sound of his voice raising the pinkette stopped in the middle of squeezing a pillow. With her motions halted, he released his hands from his ears. "You can't tell anybody about this, alright? It's supposed to be a secret, one that he himself wants to reveal."

"But Sasuke he proposed on Valentine's Day! That's so romantic and Hinata will—I'm going to have to revive her again, aren't I?" As if on cue the phone rang. This time Sasuke did check it, giving a sigh not too long afterwards. Sakura gave him and uneasy smile, pulling on the jeans that lay across the lounge chair near her side of the bed. "Pick it up and tell that idiot I'll be right over. Also not to panic, I don't want you to have to arrest him like last time." He rolled his eyes, flipping the phone open as she walked out the door.

**Favorite moment, line, and quote?**


	3. Job

**The Deer And The Ferret****: Job**

Shikamaru gave an annoyed sigh, blowing a puff of smoke that hovered about his desk. He placed the receiver of the phone on the desk, scratching the back of his head. Neither of his bosses was picking up the phone, meaning that they couldn't come in today. As rare as it was for both men to not come to the office, he posed a major problem on his part. There was only one person to call who would take over operations for the day, regardless of the holiday.

Shikamaru pushed back a bit from his desk, kicking his black shoes on top of the surface. He looked up at the ceiling, the fan spinning at a low level mostly for decoration purposes if anything. It was moment like this he was glad that woman had nagged him into switching from real smokes to the electronic ones. Smoking had always calmed down and allowed him to focus better for some reason; now he could smoke in the building without getting yelled at. Having picked up the habit in honor of his now dead teacher, the detective blew another puff of smoke.

What should he do? Being the head of the detective unit, he certain could lead him he had to…it's just that he lacked the motivation to take the reins and do more than needed. Getting lost in his own thoughts while watching the water vapor, he switched his position so that way his chin rested on the desk. What his vision locked in that moment was the person standing in front of his desk. "So, boss isn't coming in today?" A womanly voice asked him.

His eyes went to his companion's waist to her face in an instant (he had learned not to stare at certain parts of her body, or else she'd pull a Sakura and sock him in the back of the head). Before him was a straw blonde beauty, dressed in a black suit with a lavender button up shirt underneath, a white tie around the collar of the shirt. This women was none other than Temari Subaku, Shikamaru's partner in both work and *ahem* "play"

Temari smirked at his lethargic attitude, finding that she was wondering as to how he became the youngest chief of the detective unit. And then she remembered that every case he had been given had been solved in the last three years….except for who had killed his teacher Asuma Sarutobi and why several years back. "You rarely smoke inside the office, Shikamaru. What's wrong this time?" Temari walked around his desk, Shikamaru sitting up the second she had begun to move. Now she was sitting in his lap, straightening his green suspenders.

Let it be known that Sasuke never let anyone mix business with pleasure while on the clock. Ever. The only exception happened to be these two since they had always worked as a pair since the Academy days. That and between the two of them impossible puzzles had been solved. "Naruto—of all people—called in as well."

Temari's right eyebrow rose in surprise, it being emitted from her voice: "Really? That's really unexpected for someone who has never missed a day of work. The only day he takes off Hinata's birthday. What did he propose to her or something?" There was a pause and then the two were laughing hysterically. Naruto proposing to anyone sounded crazy! Out of anyone on the force he was definitely not someone they thought would settle down, no matter how much he loved Hinata.

Obviously there wrong of course, but hey sometimes genius's can be some of the most stupid people. After wiping away a few tears, they sighed in sync. Shikamaru placed his head against her shoulder. "I know, any other day and he would have loved to take over. But if the Orange Fox can't do it, looks like I'm gonna have to call in his _'sister'_…" At that Temari pushed herself off of him, eyes wide with fear.

She was shaking her head back and forth rapidly, raising her hands to calm him down. "You're not serious, Shika! There's a reason we call her the Red Vixen and it's not just because of her hair. She's got Naruto's hyperness, Sakura's temper, and Sasuke's work ethic. I'd rather have Lee and his "encouraging youth* speeches for the rest of the week. Please, please if you love don't do this."

Temari had now clasped her hands together, begging him not to do this to her and her coworkers. Shikamaru took the cig from his mouth and smiled. "As troublesome as she is, it needs to be done. Besides you know how she's a softie when it comes to today. Let's just hope Kiba didn't plan anything too special or else were screwed."

**Favorite Moment, Line, And Quote?**


	4. Intruder

**Karui is NOT an OC! Check the character selection and Naruto Wiki!**

**The Fox And The Hound****: Intruder**

Karui jogged around the corner, finishing up her morning route earlier than normal. Wearing a gray and black jumper, she could see her breath turn to a white mist in the morning air. Checking her watch with on her left wrist, she went for her right pocket to fish out her keys. Karui halted as she got closer to her house, for something was amiss: whenever she went she went out, she always left the lights off. And yet, her house was glowing in the newly risen sunlight.

'_Dammit, the one time I don't have my gun on me!_' Karui thought to herself, as she slipped the key into the lock. Tensing herself as she opened the door, she came up with various scenarios in which she could apprehend this intruder. And then she spotted the giant red banner with pink letters that spelled out "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!" above her in the doors hallway. She sighed, slapping her face lightly with her hand. That idiot!

It was time like these that she wished she hadn't given him a key…and found him rather sweet. "Kiba!" She called out inside the house, closing the door behind her. She slanted her stance, crossing her arms with a finger tapping. Just before her patience wore thin, a voice called out "I'm in your room!"

For whatever reason, Karui then pictured her boyfriend handcuffed to the bed, a spiked collar around his neck with nothing but his boxers on. Her cheeks darkened considerably at the thought, as she climbed up the stairs. Creaking the door open upon arrival the brown-skinned woman's amber eyes widened at the display. Thousand of red and yellow roses were spread across her bed, the yellow making a heart and the red spelling her name.

She went to the foot of the furniture to get a better view of what he had done. _'Where did he get all these flowers? And are they real?' _She lifted a yellow one that was closest to her, and was graced by a wonderful fragrance. "Do you like it? It's a good thing I know your schedule or I never would have timed it right!"

A voice came from behind her, arms wrapping around her waist. She closed her eyes at the feeling of the embrace, recognizing that the touch of his torso against her back. He must have just have jumped out of the shower, the smell of his chocolate body-wash reaching her nose. She sighed, breathing him in. "Kiba, this is so sweet of you. How did you get all these roses?"

Taking hold of the lower stem of the flower, he twirled it as he placed his cheek next to her head. "Yamanaka owes me for helping out at her store a while back. But hey what are a thousand flowers compared to my own Black rose?" Karui felt her face heat up and her heartbeat pick up at this, accidently pricking her finger for pressing to hard on the rose.

Kiba chuckled at this, having once told her that she resembled Hinata in the aspect of how embarrassed she got around the boy she cared about. He took her finger and sucked on it a little, causing her to flush even more. He unwrapped himself from her and went into the bathroom, looking for a band-aid. Not saying anything, he placed it around her finger and kissed it. "Better?"

She shook her head, a sly smile on her face a two fingers to her lips. "No you missed a spot," He laughed and leaned in for a kiss—when Karui's pants buzzed and her phone went off. Kiba halted stepping backwards, as Karui spun on her heel, a vein visible at her anger. "_'Why do they always call just when it gets good?' _What?" She cried into her mobile she had pulled out of her right pocket.

Ignoring the fact that her boyfriend was in the room, Karui started to change out of her running gear and into her work clothes. Kiba just watched, leaning against the wall as she yelling at the person on the other side of the phone—most likely Shikamaru, calling to tell him Sasuke and Naruto couldn't come into day. He felt bad knowing that she was going to give her coworkers hell for calling her in on today of all days.

Kiba shook his head, as she finished getting read, pushing her red hair behind her ears and out of her face. Her heels clicking as she turned around to face, she kissed him on his cheek. "I'll make this up to you, I promise." She gave a mischievous wink, and a smile. He blushed a bit at the sentiment, his mind reeling of what that she would possibly do. He blinked after hearing the door click and then grinned. _'Now where did I put those handcuffs?'_


	5. Decision

**The Boar And The Butterfly****: Decision **

Even though she had arrived to her flower shop, The Butterfly Boutique, earlier than usual the morning of February 14th, Ino Yamanaka was happy to find a truck awaiting her. In the back of the 14 wheeler were crates full of fertilizer, and being careful of the ice that seemed to lace the street like cake frosting, she had been unloading it for the past half hour. It was when she was carrying a rather large container that she slipped and felt herself losing balance.

She closes her eyes as a reaction to expecting to her the sickening thud of concrete against, the impact to happen at any second now. When nothing happened, the blonde realized that her fall had been stopped. Someone had caught her, their hands around her waist with her back pressed against their apparently toned body.

The top of her ponytailed head rested on this person's neck, meaning whomever had came to her rescue was considerable tall (Ino was 5'9" due to the heels of the boots she was wearing.) And for some reason the way she had fit so snugly into this person's frame felt so familiar, as the person's gently unwrapped themselves from her person. Regaining her posture and shifting the weight to make it more manageable for her, she spun on her heel with a smile. "Thanks for the help. You really saved me there—"

Ino's eyes widened she realized who was her hero, her smile fading in 0.5 seconds flat. He had shaggy light brown hair that went to his broad shoulders, his ripped muscles still visible inside his winter clothes. Despite his size, his smile was gentle and kind, if not uneasy at the moment. "Chouji…" It wasn't a question of as to why he was there, more of a statement of fact that she wasn't surprised by his appearance. He had been her boyfriend not too long ago but now…

"Ino," She had broken up with him in the blink of an eye. No warning, no sign that he had screwed up, no explanation as to why. He slid his large hands back into pockets, the girl having spun on her heel and walked away without letting him get another word in. She disappeared into her shop, leaving Chouji to sigh in the cold.

He turned his attention to the truck, climbing up into the open back and lifting two crates. Once on the ground again, the bulky man carefully made his way into the shop. Carrying them into the storage room, he saw that the crates had been stacked against the nearest wall. "Just leave them anywhere, alright." She called out to him through the doorway. Placing the secured packages, he then entered the shop. The sunlight gave a calm glow into shop, making the variety of colors even brighter. Ino was found tying the back of her purple apron around her waist. "You can leave now, Chouji." She said with an even tone, her back to him.

He shook his head even though he could be seen. "I'm not going anywhere, Ino. You and I need to talk, more so you. I need you to tell me why exactly you broke up with me." He saw her hands clench into fist at his demand. He took a few steps and closed the gap between, Ino turning to face him. Soft brown eyes peered into cool annoyed blue. Her crossed arm stance and angry look told him that she was thinking about calling the police.

He chuckled at the thought of her doing so. "Ino, you aren't going to call the police because I _am _the police." Chouji flashed his badge hidden on his jacket's liner. Though he was completely serious he smiled at the tiny grin he got out of her. A split second later she sighed, spinning away from him and walking to her counter space, her ponytail whipping the air when she did so.

Chouji said nothing at this, but decided to walk around the shop. "What was it that I did? Was I too overbearing or too nice? What is someone else that droves us apart? I know you gave up chasing Sasuke in high school," He passed by pink lilies and dark blue violets, "And I know about you little crush on Naruto, but I don't think you'd go for him nowadays (especially considering that Hinata's scary than Sakura at times)."

He then stopped in front of orange irises and lavender forget-me-nots. The police officer finally picked a dark purple lilac, wafting a smell before twirling it between two of his fingers. He was done with his round of the shop, and was now parallel to the flower keep by standing in front of the counter. "Maybe it was that Sai guy. Didn't you say that you liked artists? And he is kind of like Sasuke in some regard. Or was it Kiba—"

Ino knew that the only way to stop his rambling was to seal his lips. So the blond did so, cutting him off in midsentence by pressing her own against Chouji's. She leaned back behind the counter on the back of her heels when she released, lilac now in her hand.

"Chouji," She started to, a slight blush on her face from her action as she looked down at her favorite flower and away from his stunned face. "Why is that when something always happens between us it's always your fault and never mine?"

"As you said before, you are the police right? Not only that but you're one of Kohana's top officers who's well known to the citizens—and the criminals! After what happened to Sakura being kidnapped and then Lee recently being shot, I've had nightmares of being in Sakura's place with a gun to my head or being at your side while you're in the hospital like Karin. I just couldn't the thought of losing you, either it be to your own grief of me dying or you going out with honor."

Ino's eyes were now wet with tears as she suddenly remembered the bad dreams she had conjured up once upon at time. She hadn't even seen him move, but was soon enveloped into one of his famous bear hugs. "Why didn't you just tell me that, Ino?" He breathed, pressed her head against his chest as he angled her. "I would have asked Sasuke for paper work if you were so worried about me going out and dying."

"And after seeing what Sasuke and Naruto will do combined to get Sakura back, crooks should know not to kidnap a cop's family. I can imagine if it did happen to you, and I know that both Shikamaru and I would turn this city over. And I'm not going to die so easily Ino, trust me I'm a hard guy to kill."

It was then that the scream of police sirens could be heard and several cars zipped by the store. Chouji looked up at the vehicles and then back to Ino, who gave him a small smile. "Go. It is your duty after all." She was wiping her eyes when he gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. Once he reached the door, she called out to him, "And you better come back alive! I don't want to be alone on Valentine's Day!"

**Favorite Moment, Line, And Quote?**


	6. Rescue

**The Tiger And The Robin****: Rescue**

Pushing up her glasses on her face with her left hand, the police's departments other infamous redhead was absentmindedly organizing data. Her eyes didn't leave the screen as a cup of coffee was placed on the right-hand side of her desk. "Thanks," She said with a slight smile, her unoccupied hand lifting the drink and bringing it to her lips.

The man that had so graciously brought it to her spun the chair on the other side of her desk around, sitting in it so his chest rested against its back. He gave her an over dramatized wink, sipping from his own mug before responding. "It is my pleasure to help you out my beautiful Red tulip." Karin smiled against the cup, rolling her eyes at his statement. Of course she, the intellectual no-nonsense computer whiz falls for the poetic yet martial art crazed sharpshooter.

Karin had been a hacker before she joined the city's armored forces. When she was raided, instead of taking her own life like she had planned, Lee had sweet talked her out of it by saying that her life was important ("You may not see your own life for its own value, but to me it is a precious gift to the world…"). Several months later, after having passed all of the necessary test, Karin was working for the police and dating Lee. She enjoyed her job—she was now 'legally' hacking database to help sort out crime and solve mystery, able to keep her home safe with a watchful, digital eye.

Karin cut her eye away from the screen to look her boyfriend. He was leaning forward trying to make heads or tails of what she was doing now. Name of fellow officers, their status and rankings, and their primary weapons were all listed on the screen before them. Putting her drink down, all of Karin's digits went to the keyboard. "Remember that awards ceremony last month?" Rock Lee's eye brows scrunched in confusion and when that spark of recognition appeared, Karin quickly cut him off from doing another poetic tangent. "I'm just updating the ranks and who uses what weapon. I figured I'd do it since it seems quiet in the city."

It was then that Karin received a side notification (she had installed silent alarms in every store and bank within the city. If trouble happened she'd be the first to know.) Lee sat straight up at the look on his girlfriend's face. "Karin, what is it?" She didn't say anything which cause him to get up and move behind her. Reading over her shoulder, Lee's eyes widened for the cry for assistance had come from a place Lee knew well: Ten Gem Jewelry Emporium.

Lee's mega brow furrowed in anger at the sight, both hands against the desk's surface. "Karin do you think you could—" He hadn't even finished his sentence when a video screen popped up. The live footage showed that many of the customers on the ground and grouped together in a circle. Masked and armed men were surrounding them, lethal weapons on their hands. It was the sight of the owner, a woman with brown twin-bun hair, with a gun to the side of her skull that the martial artist fist clenched.

"Lee, if you want to go, you're going to need to calm down." He released his grip at the sound of Karui's voice. She herself had just received a call from a civilian about the hostage situation and had come to see Lee and Karin about it. "I don't want your connections with one of the hostages to cause you to do something reckless." The dark skinned redhead crossed her arms as she stopped in front of the desk, keeping her eyes gentle as she locked with Lee's eyes.

Her voice had being firm when she had spoken, but it suddenly got softer as she flashed a sad smile, "We don't want to repeat what happened last time, right?" Karin looked down at the keyboard at this, while Lee's right hand gripped his heart. He nodded in understand, which Karui let out a sigh to. "I already alarmed Neji and he should already be there by now. Put on full body protection and then you may go and assist him."

Karin looked up and whispered her thanks and Karui winked in return. With that, she clicked her heel and headed back to the chief's office. Lee lifted off the desk to go get his equipment, when Karin stopped him by grabbing his sleeve. "Lee, wait!"

He took a breath to calm himself, replying softly so he wouldn't yell: "Karin, do not try and stop me. If I do not at least attempt to save Tenten, it will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my days." Karin was now standing in front of Lee, and looked him in the face. Instead of the sad look he had expected, she smiled at him: "No, I just wanted to tell you to say safe and be careful."

He grinned at this and gave his "nice guy" pose. "Karin, I promise on the power of youth that I will be fine. On a day like today, where feelings of love flow so passionately—" Again Karin cut him off, this time with a kiss on the cheek, telling him to shut up and go. As he left, Karin knew that she recognized Tenten for some reason (and not from his cadet stories or meeting her in person)…but what was it?

**Favorite moment, quote, and line?**


	7. Sibling

**The Panda And The Dove:** **Sibling**

Neji's gripped tightened around the megaphone with each minute. His wife, Tenten, was the owner of the jewelry store that was now in the hostile situation. All he could do was watch his love at the mercy of a gun man, the thought of losing her breaking his heart and fueling his anger! He was the city's best criminal negotiator, having been in many scenarios like this one, but he had never thought….

Neji knew that Lee was on his way to assist him if need, which made him feel more relaxed. If Naruto wasn't so busy with his cousin (earlier that morning he had received a call from Sakura, Hinata apparently having fainted because of the blond…again….), the younger man would have been at the scene in a heartbeat!

Other than Sasuke, Tenten was someone Naruto had been close too when they were children. The brunette was sweet on him, being able to sympathize with his lack of family (her mother had died at an early age, leaving only with her father). She had become something of a sister and mother figure to him, and Neji had always been fine with their interaction. That is until High School when the blond had taken an _interest _in his then girlfriend.

She had rejected him as softly as possible, through Naruto was still hurt from being turned away. Neji had assumed at the time that the boy would have been used to it thanks to Sakura, but it must have hurt to have someone you trusted break your heart. Naruto hadn't shown up for week after that, which worried many of his friends, including Tenten. She thoroughly thought that it was her fault for him disappearing and was distraught for losing her 'little brother'.

He then showed up the next day, clothes worn and body battered. When the crowd of students had asked him if he was alright, he blatantly lied and said it was nothing—only to be caught in the act when he blacked out seconds later. As Sasuke took Naruto to the nurse, Tenten and Hinata following, Neji only watched with anger in his white eyes. He had promised himself to find out who had done this to his girlfriend's 'baby sibling'.

Between Neji's influence as student council president/head of the discipline committee and Sasuke's connections with police, it was revealed that a gang known as the Atasuki was lying in wait within the back alleys of their home. Naruto had been walking the streets when he caught sight some of the gang's thugs were beating up a defenseless kid. Because of his stupid heroics (and bad memories from when he was kid) Naruto had jumped into save the kid.

He had won in a matter of moments, but it was reinforcements came that Naruto had found himself outnumbered. The kid had gotten away, but Naruto had found himself being brought to the gang's head members. They had beat him (well a couple of them anyway, the others just watched with feign disinterest) mercilessly for days for playing hero and interfering with their group's affairs.

After heading healing up for two days at school—yes it was so bad that they wouldn't go home. That, and Principal Tsunade hadn't want him to get hurt if they were waiting for him outside school grounds—Naruto had vanished in order to get revenge after hearing that the leader had attacked Naruto's English teacher, Jiraya. He made it past all of the lower level cronies by himself, and with his friends coming to handle the other main members, he made it all the way to Pain.

What he hadn't realized was that Hinata had followed close behind him, and when the moment came, she jumped between the two in order to save a downed Naruto. They both would have been dead, if not at that moment Sasuke's older brother Itatchi, who had been an undercover cop, stunned Pain from behind and took him in. It was after these events that Naruto started to go out with Hinata, which TenTen approved because if those two got married after she and Neji did (for some reason Neji never denied that he would marry her when they were younger and just accepted it as fate) then Naruto really would be family!

The sound of his phone ringing broke Neji's thoughts—it was the ring tone he had for Tenten! His hand practically dove for the device, trembling a little. Looking at the number, he had been right, it was Tenten! ...But how? Neji looked up to see the gunman who held his wife with the phone pressed against his ear. Neji snapped it open, his breath holding a calm anger. "Yes?" He seethed through the receiver.

Apparently the crooks weren't as heartless as they seemed, as they had allowed him to speak to his wife. Though it was strange at how calm and casual Neji's conversation sounded to the newbie that stood beside his superior officer: "You sure you're alright?" Pause to let her speak. "Okay, good. Hey what's for dinner? Really? That sounds great, darling, I'm sure the kids will love it. Please don't hurt them too much alright?" Why was Neji so zen during a situation like this? And wait, why was he smirking and what did he mean by 'Please don't hurt them too badly…?" The rookie's eyes widened suddenly making a connection! Neji's wife was—!

Tenten's arms had been straight up toward the ceiling as the gunman had a loose arm around her waist and gun to her head. The second he clicked her phone shut, she grinned largely. There was a reason criminal's from around here didn't come into her store and she was about to demonstrate why!

Tenten ducked fast, pulling herself into a spinning sweep kick. As he fell forward she moved in placed behind him, pulling him upright from underneath his armpits. Turning her heel to face the other thieves, she used her right hand to aim the gun at them. She pulled the trigger and….shot blanks.

There was a silence in the room for a moment, the look of surprise on the captive's faces and annoyed anger on Tenten's. "You came into to my store with empty guns? Really? How cheap do you think this inventory is?" She cried, smacking her gunman's weapon upside his head. As their companion fell before them, the other criminals' eyes widened at the sight of Tenten having pulled her own guns from underneath her Chinese dress.

Neji winced at the sound of gunshots rang through the air. There was reason Tenten had been relieved from duty a couple of years ago, and had nothing to do with her skill level: the medals and achievements the Panda Gunner left in her wake were only matched by Sasuke's elder brother. No it was because she was about to become a mother to his children—and the fact that she happened to be a little trigger happy, despite her amazing aim and control.

Tenten had dragged out the unconscious criminals by their collar, leading her fellow hostages outside. Her brown eyes instantly brightened at the sight of her husband, dropping the poor thugs off with Chouji to take them to station. Neji wrapped his arms around her as she kissed him on the lips and threw her arms around his neck. "Tenten," He said, pushing a lock of her hair back to look in her eyes, "What did Sasuke say about the guns?"

Tenten gave a sheepish smile worth of Naruto. "He didn't. If I remember correctly I've only being released from duty until our kids are in school, not that I had to give up my toys." Neji rolled his eyes as before pulling her into a close hug, his face in her hair. He knew that she was going to get out there, but still if something had really gone wrong….

Neji loosened his grip on her when he felt an unfamiliar cool against his neck. Stepping back he looked down to see a silver necklace, carrying a red jewel. "It got it from Suna," Tenten explained, "That stone is supposed to symbolize an undying love. I figured it was appropriate for today." Today. Today? Today! Wait... what was today?

He closed his eyes to think about the date, but opened them at her giggle. "You're so hopeless, Neji. How could you forget Valentine's day?" He opened his mouth to respond, but when nothing came out, his wife walked around to go talk to Lee who seemed to be streaming tears at her safety. How could he, Neji Hyuga, forget that it was February 14th?


	8. Proximity

**The Scarab And The Husky: Proximity**

From the moment she arrived in her office that morning, Hana seemed to lose focus on her work and stare at the flowers on her desk. Lilies and roses, white ones. There had been on tag stating who it was from, except for a white card that said _"For the most beautiful Flower of them all...Happy Valetine's Day."_

Hana had a feeling she knew who it could have been, as she had found a green heart-shaped box filled with mint chocolates alongside. Only a few people knew that she enjoyed mint chocolate, the first being her baby brother Kiba, the second being her boyfriend. Her focus was divided between her lover and the paperwork that needed to be done, and the more she thought of him, the more she couldn't work.

There was a knock on the door that pulled her from day dream. In the opening stood a tall man, his black trench coat almost sweeping the floor. "What can I do for you, officer?" She asked, the badge on his coat striking her attention. He took several steps into the room, finally taking a seat in the chair before her desk. His eyes were hidden behind black sunglass, but Hana knew that they were locked with her own.

"Just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought I should stop by to check up on the city's best vet. How is such a wonderful woman like you doing today?" Even though his mouth was covered by a dark green turtleneck, his smile could be heard on his voice. A slight pink had found its way to her cheeks, so Hana looked down at the health reports of various animals with her care.

The man sitting before her was Shino Aburame, the only person to match Karin's hacking skill within KCPD. He was a valubable person to the team, having been christened 'The Man of a Million Faces' for his near perfect undercover missions. He was also renowned for his ability to 'bug' suspects and criminals. Hacker, wire-tapper, tracker, and undercover cop, he was definitely one of Konoha's best officers….

Shino also happened to be her baby brother's best friend since they were ten and (much to Kiba's protest and displeasure) her boyfriend she had mentioned earlier. They had been together for three years now, and because it was Shino who initiated their relationship, it had Hana's goal to find a distraction for her little brother. Luckily it enough, it came from Kumo in the shape of fiery dark-skinned red head.

The two had hit it off after the first date (their first argument over who should pay the bill had dinner). And while Kiba worked at Konoha's museum in the archeology department, the couple had shared many cases in which Kiba's skills came in hand for solving the mystery at hand. Karui had jokingly called him *****'Bones' once and he had nicknamed her "Ekundu" or Red. Both the names seemed to stick, as everyone called them the Red Bones duo whenever they were seen together.

"So how did Kiba's plan to wow Karui go?" Hana finally asked, her blush finally faded away. It had been her who gave Kiba the idea to shower his girl with a variety of flowers for Valentine's day. Hana knew that he would take all the credit, but it was fine as Shino had accompanied him to get her the flowers that lay on her desk. Shino chuckled at the thought, causing the brunette to raise an eye brow.

"That bone-head has the worse luck sometimes. She got called in for the day to run the station." There goes the other brow, as her eyes widened. Shino seemed to read her mind at her unsaid question because he then said, "Hinata apparently fainted this morning because of Naruto, and seeing as how Sasuke took the day off to spend it with Sakura, the four of them are at the hospital as we speak."

"Do we know why she passed out exactly?"

"Kiba said something about a marriage proposal on the phone."

"Are you serious?" "When am I ever _not_ serious?"

Hana smiled at his reply now finally standing up to stretch, "Only when you're with me. Why is that that exactly?" Shino got up and walked behind the desk, wrapping his arms around her waist. When they had been younger she had always been taller than him, but now he stood a little bit above her. Hana's arms covered his own so that way her hands covered Shino's.

"Consider it a moment of weakness," He whispered in her ear, a smile on his voice, "It's a little quirk that happens cause of you, though I'm not alone. Kiba's tamer around Karui, Naruto thinks a little more before he speaks due to Hinata; Sasuke is more open with his emotions because of Sakura, while Neji isn't as uptight thanks to Tenten; Lee tones it down for Karin, while Chouji became more confident around Ino."

"It's the little things you men do that drive us crazy, but alsp causes us to love you more. I'm pretty sure it's a mutual feeling, correct?" Hana says as kisses him on the cheek. It wasn't so often that he showed this much affection nor said this much, so she decided to stay close to him. Shino merely nods sliding his head against her shoulder.

"I'm going to have to leave you again…" His voice was so soft that she didn't even think he said anything, that it was merely a thought. Her office, which was filled with pictures of her helping pets, reuniting them with their owners, of the awards she had won, suddenly felt smaller and emptier.

Having talked to Sakura, Hinata, and Ino it was feeling that they all shared when their boys went away to work. Because the risks were always very high of them not coming back, trying to go about their own jobs and focusing was very hard for each woman individually. But they each had things they had to do: Sakura as a nurse, Hinata teaching, Hana herself helping sick animals, and Ino brighting someone's afternoon with her flowers.

Though maybe having jobs so far away from the police world was a blessing, since after-all they say ignorance is bliss. Because maybe it was harder to be beside the ones you love and have the tragedy occur: Karin was a mess after Lee got shot, having Temari never leaving Shikamaru leave her side, and Kiba ask Karui to guard the museum until the craze died down.

And that's why on Febuary 14th, this day of love and caring—of loneliness and sorrow—all Hana wanted was to keep him here with her. But she knew she couldn't, as it was his duty to help weed out crime and keep her safe the best he might, even if that meant being separated from her.

***A reference to my favorite show 'Bones'**

**Favorite moment, line, and quote?**


End file.
